Local News

An Ivanhoe man who suffered serious injuries was airlifted from the scene of a two-vehicle crash on Ivanhoe Road on Thursday.

According to a report from Virginia State Police Trooper S.M. Phillips, units were dispatched at around 2:35 p.m. on Jan. 8, on reports of a two-vehicle accident on Ivanhoe Road.

A 2000 Blazer operated by Frank Tidwell, 56, of Ivanhoe, was traveling north when it ran off of the right shoulder of the road about .02 mile north of Virginia 601, and skidded broadside into oncoming traffic.

The Virginia State Police Sex Offender Unit is asking for the public’s help in locating a sex offender who has failed to re-register.

Two warrants have been issued for Kenneth Daniel Townsend, 30, of Galax, for violation of probation and failing to re-register in December 2014, according to an alert issued by state police.

He is described by the state police as African-American, brown eyes, 5’6” tall and weighing 170 lbs. His last known address was on Fifth Avenue in Galax, and police said they believe he is still in the Galax area.

No injuries were reported in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 77 on Monday, when a Charlotte, N.C., man reportedly lost control of his vehicle and flipped it after hitting guardrails on both sides of the road.

According to a report from Virginia State Trooper J.R. Alderman, police and rescue units were called to the scene at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 5.

Tim Webb was working his routine shift as a communications officer at the Galax Police Department’s dispatch center on Dec. 29.

It was around lunchtime, he said, and the call volume was picking up.

Cheri Grable was in bed at Skyland Lakes near Fancy Gap, looking after her 17-month-old grandson, Aidan Paul Walker, lying next to her. Melissa, Cheri’s daughter and Aidan’s mother, was out getting medicine for him, as he was running a slight fever.

A New Mexico man wanted for the burglary of two New River Valley churches was caught last week after being recognized by two Galax Police Department communications officers.

The suspect, Douglas Edward Miller, 42, of Taos, N.M., allegedly broke into the Dublin Church of God in December and stole $100; and also allegedly broke into two churches in central Radford. He was wanted by the police in both localities.

Most residents of Carroll County couldn’t get away without knowing Guy Padgett.

In fact, the former county treasurer was known as an avid people person, who never met a stranger.

“Whenever he would see a stranger, he would walk right up to them and ask, ‘Do you know who I am?’ And if they didn’t know, he would tell them,” said Darrell Jennings, former Commissioner of Revenue for the county. “He was a true politician, and he loved people. Guy was one of a kind, that’s for sure.”